The Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Alan Shatter, TD, has made an Order under the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 prescribing certain registered relationships entered into by same sex couples in other jurisdictions as entitled to be treated as equivalent to civil partnership under Irish law. The additional registered relationships now being afforded recognition are: Australian Capital Territory (Australia) Marriage
Brazil Marriage
France Marriage
Jersey Civil Partnership
Quintana Roo (Mexico) Marriage
New Zealand Marriage
Colorado (United States of America) Civil Union
Delaware (United States of America) Marriage
Maine (United States of America) Marriage
Maryland (United States of America) Marriage
Minnesota (United States of America) Marriage
New Jersey (United States of America) Marriage
Rhode Island (United States of America) Marriage
Uruguay Marriage
The Order will come into effect on 31 December 2013.
Irish-based couples in any of these relationships will, from that date, be subject to the same legal regime and the same rights and obligations as a couple who register a civil partnership in Ireland. This includes rights and obligations in relation to shared property, pensions, inheritance and on break-up of the relationship. Civil partners are also treated in the same way as spouses under the tax, social welfare and domestic violence codes.
The making of this order brings the number of categories of recognised registered relationships to 57, from 45 jurisdictions.
Announcing the making of the order, the Minister said “Making this Order reflects my ongoing commitment to ensuring that the protections of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 are kept updated. The international environment is continuing to change, as shown by the fact that 12 of the 14 newly-recognised relationships are marriages between same-sex couples. There will be further changes in 2014, not least the opening of marriage to same-sex couples in England and Wales. These will be recognised in future orders.”
ENDS
11 December, 2013
Note to Editors
Previous orders under section 5 of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 were made in December 2010, December 2011 and December 2012. The full list of relationships now recognised under section 5 orders are listed below (newly recognised relationships are marked with an asterisk): Jurisdiction Title of Relationship
Argentina Marriage
Australian Capital Territory (Australia) Marriage*
Austria Eingetragene Partnerschaft-Gesetz
Belgium Marriage
Brazil Marriage*
Canada Marriage
Czech Republic Registrované partnerství
Denmark (a) Registreret partnerskab (b) Marriage
Finland Rekisteröity parisuhde
France Marriage*
Germany Eingetragene lebenspartnerschaft
Iceland (a) Staðfest samvist
(b) Marriage
Isle of Man Civil Partnership
Jersey Civil Partnership*
Mexico City Marriage
Quintana Roo (Mexico) Marriage*
Netherlands Marriage
New Zealand (a) Civil Union (b) Marriage*
Norway (a) Registrert partnerskap (b) Marriage
Portugal Marriage
South Africa (a) Marriage (b) Civil Partnership
Spain Marriage
Sweden (a) Registrerat partnerskap (b) Marriage
Switzerland Eingetragene Partnerschaft / Partenariat enregistré
United Kingdom Civil Partnership
California (United States of America) Marriage
Colorado (United States of America) Civil Union*
Connecticut (United States of America) (a) Civil Union (b) Marriage
Delaware (United States of America) (a) Civil Union (b) Marriage*
Hawaii (United States of America) Civil Union
Illinois (United States of America) Civil Union
Iowa (United States of America) Marriage
Massachusetts (United States of America) Marriage
Maine (United States of America) Marriage*
Maryland (United States of America) Marriage*
Minnesota (United States of America) Marriage*
New Hampshire (United States of America) (a) Civil Union (b) Marriage
New Jersey (United States of America) (a) Civil Union
(b) Marriage*
New York (United States of America) Marriage
Oregon (United States of America) Domestic Partnership
Rhode Island (United States of America) (a) Civil Union
(b) Marriage*
Vermont (United States of America) (a) Civil Union (b) Marriage
Washington D.C. (United States of America) Marriage
Washington State (United States of America) Marriage
Uruguay Marriage*